Parliament hosts boxing event in honour of Grenfell

Young boxers from across London sparred in the Houses of Parliament as part of a fundraising event held in memory of those who died in the Grenfell Tower fire.

It was initiated by London's former fire commissioner, Lord Roe, who served as incident commander on the night of the fire on 14 June 2017, when 72 people died.

A boxing coach himself, Lord Roe had trained at Dale Youth Boxing Club, which was based inside the tower block.

Among those boxing was Sulayman, who said the fire had changed his life: "I had family in there and it was a big event and it caused a lot of things in my life to change, and boxing kind of just put me back on the right track after such a traumatic event."

He added: "I think it's amazing, to be honest. You wouldn't expect it to have a ring in Parliament. I think more events like this should happen more often."

Lord Roe said the idea for the event began on the night of the fire itself.

"I don't like to think too much about it, actually, because I think it was such a shocking failure of everyone who should have looked after people there, and I include every organisation that should have done better," he said.

He added it was difficult to talk about the fire, particularly what he saw when he got to the scene.

"I wouldn't be able to put into words for this interview," he said. "It's like an image burnt on my retinas. I wouldn't be able to keep my composure and say it."

The ring was set up by firefighters on the terrace.

Before the competitors got into the ring, Lord Roe told them: "Boxing has given me so many things; structure, discipline, focus, purpose."

Talullah said she had taken up sport because her father and uncles had boxed. "It taught me how to protect myself," he said. "I also like boxing because of my grandad in the Grenfell Tower."

Ahmed El-Aloui, a coach at Armzhouse gym, said the sport gave bereaved young people a release.

"Boxing just helps people not just come to terms with it, but it actually lets them let it all out," he said.

"They can hit something without actually hitting anyone. When you take a person on the pads, after about five minutes they stop hitting the pads and they just start blurting out how they feel and what's going on.

"That way you can connect with them and make sure they get that stuff out, because once they get it out, they can start healing."

The evening ended with the ten bells, the traditional farewell rung for boxers who have died, this time in memory of those killed at Grenfell.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk